Scott Henderson Discussion

muddytrane · Joined: 18 May 2016 Posts: 55 Location: Herndon, VA

Scott,

Since you are currently announcing some US dates and you told us about the problems of touring in the US, how about sitting us around the camplifier (like that!) and tell us the worst gig you've ever done (not musically but low pay, no pay, problems getting paid, etc) Also tell us a couple stories about gigs in the past and present that qualify as close seconds! You can leave out any incriminating names (person or venue) that you want to or let them have it!

Scott Henderson · The Man Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 2135

How about a whole tour? The first Tribal Tech tour in the states was cancelled halfway through, because about 10 clubs had low ticket sales and pulled out at the last minute. Kinsey flew home, (wimp) so Willis and I drove the van from the east coast back to LA. We decided to drink lots of coffee and do the trip non-stop, but Covington wanted to drive 8 hours a day, so he promised to make the trip with us if we stopped for one night, so we stopped. The next morning, he bailed and flew home. (asshole) So, it was me and Willis driving home with our tails between our legs - we got our asses kicked. Anyway, we did it again the next year and managed to do the whole tour, pay the guys 1000 each a week, and we made a total of 0. On our most successful US tour, Willis and I came home with about 900 bucks each. Awesome!

If you've seen Spinal Tap, that's pretty much what touring with Tribal Tech was like.

I can't remember specific venues that ripped us off, but there were definitely a few - maybe therapy has erased them from my memory....

muddytrane · Joined: 18 May 2016 Posts: 55 Location: Herndon, VA

Guess that van ride is why you and Willis stuck together so long! I wonder if that tour is the same as my bad TT experience? My buddies and I had tickets to see TT at the Pier Six Pavilion in Baltimore where you guys were the opening band (I can't remember who you were opening for) but we came just to see TT. I think you had played in NYC the night before. Right before the show started they announced that you guys had cancelled and weren't playing and we were mad because we drove a good distance to see you and NOT the headliner. We stayed for about 30 minutes of the headliner, were bummed and left. I still have the ticket stub somewhere as my good buddy and I swore the next time we saw you we were going to grill you about not showing up! You have a good memory and you might remember what/when about this. Would be great to finally know the reason so I can tell my buddy (a blues guitar player himself) all these years later the actual reason!

Scott Henderson · The Man Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 2135

It was probably another show which was cancelled by the promoter. We don't get the details - we get a phone call from the agent. "Sorry, the show in Baltimore was cancelled." We're much more curious about why than you are - but we usually don't learn the reason. The promoter won't talk to us directly, and the agent claims ignorance... go figure.

I was supposed to play four gigs in Italy this month. A few weeks ago, my agent told me that the promoter disappeared. No one has heard from him since and we still don't know what happened. The music business - never boring!

muddytrane · Joined: 18 May 2016 Posts: 55 Location: Herndon, VA

Yeah "the biz" can really bite you in the ass sometimes. Two of the most respected and legendary people that told me horror stories of "the biz" was BB King and Muddy Waters. The worst had to be Muddy telling me the story of how his manager at the time was supposed to meet him in the States after a tour of Europe to pay up so he could get paid and pay the band and the manager ran off with all the money and he never heard from him again. Muddy had to pay the band out of his own pocket and like you said about the great $900 tour, he walked away from a whole summer tour of Europe with a bad headache!

Scott Henderson · The Man Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 2135

Could be worse - Selena was murdered by her manager, who embezzled 60,000 dollars. Tribal Tech had a manager for about two months - I still have a recording of a message he left on my machine - "can you please send me a check for 4 dollars for my phone bill?" I'm not making this up.

Thelonious Beck · Joined: 01 Jun 2011 Posts: 33

Scott Henderson · The Man Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 2135

Actually there was, because we played at Shank Hall in Milwaukee a few times and they have one.

The dressing room is directly in back of the stage, and there's an open window in the wall, which allowed us to hurl radishes at Covington's cymbals during the drum solo. Good times.

muddytrane · Joined: 18 May 2016 Posts: 55 Location: Herndon, VA

I guess you were lucky that there was a window for throwing the radishes at Kirk. That way you could see your way back to the stage and not be led around backstage retracing your steps and getting lost trying to get back onstage!

WTF, four dollars for a phone bill? That has got to go down as one of the most pathetic things I've ever heard coming from a manager's mouth. That one is so bad that I know you're not making that one up! I hope the therapy over the years has softened the blows and allowed you to take a deep breath every time something stupid happens now.